Biography

Rohit Sharma: A Cricketing Maestro

Early Life and Background
Full Name: Rohit Guru Nath Sharma
Date of Birth: April 30, 1987
Place of Birth: Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

Rohit Sharma was born into a modest family. His father, Gurunath Sharma, worked as a caretaker at a transport firm, while his mother, Purnima Sharma, was a homemaker. Rohit grew up in Borivali, Mumbai, and was raised by his grandparents and uncles due to financial constraints. His passion for cricket was evident from a young age, and he trained under coach Dinesh Lad, who recognized his talent and helped him secure a scholarship at Swami Vivekanand International School.

Domestic Career
Rohit made his first-class debut for Mumbai in 2006 and quickly gained attention with his elegant batting style. He played a crucial role in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy victories in 2008–09 and 2015–16.

International Career
ODI Career (2007–Present)
Debut: June 23, 2007, against Ireland

Initially struggled but later became one of India’s most dependable batsmen.

First ODI Century: 114 vs Zimbabwe (2010)

Highest ODI Score: 264 (vs Sri Lanka, 2014) – the highest individual score in ODI history.

ICC Cricket World Cup Performances:

2019: Scored five centuries, the most in a single World Cup edition.

2023: Led India to the final as captain, scoring 597 runs.

ODI Records:

Only player with three double-centuries in ODIs.

Over 10,000 runs in ODIs.

• T20I Career (2007–Present)
  Debut: September 19, 2007, vs England
• Played a key role in India’s 2007 ICC T20 World Cup win.
• Highest T20I Score: 118 (vs Sri Lanka, 2017)
• One of the most successful T20I openers.

• Test Career (2013–Present)
  Debut: November 6, 2013, vs West Indies
• Initially inconsistent but transformed into a key player after opening in 2019.
• Highest Test Score: 212 (vs South Africa, 2019)
• Played crucial knocks in overseas victories.
• IPL Career (2008–Present)
  Started with Deccan Chargers, later moved to Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2011.
• Most Successful IPL Captain: Led MI to five titles (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020).
• Highest IPL Score: 109 (2012)*
• Among the top run-scorers in IPL history.

• Captaincy
  Took over India’s limited-overs captaincy in 2021.
• Led India to the 2023 Asia Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup final.
• Under his leadership, India won 10 consecutive matches in the 2023 World Cup.

• Personal Life
  Married to Ritika Sajdeh (2015), a sports manager.
• Daughter: Samaira Sharma (born 2018).
• Known for his calm demeanor and leadership skills.

• Awards & Achievements
  Arjuna Award (2015)
• Major ICC Awards: Multiple “Player of the Match” and “Player of the Series” honors.
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year (2020)

Legacy
Rohit Sharma is regarded as one of the greatest white-ball batsmen of all time. His ability to play big innings, leadership in IPL and international cricket, and record-breaking performances make him a modern-day legend.

Virat Kohli – Important Details

• Date of Birth – 5th November 1988
• Nickname – Chiko
• Height – 5 ft 9 inches
• Parents – Father – Prem Kohli, Mother – Saroj Kohli
• Siblings – Vikash (Brother), Bhavna (Sister)
• Education – Vishal Bharti Public School, Saviour Convent
• Spouse – Anushka Sharma (actor)
• Children – Vamika (Daughter)
• Profession – Cricketer
• Batting – Right-handed batter
• Bowling – Right-arm medium bowler
• Net Worth – ₹980 crores (approx)
• Awards Received – Padma Shri, Arjuna Award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

Early Life

Virat Kohli was born in a Delhi-based Punjabi family. His father was a criminal lawyer, and his mother was a homemaker. Virat joined the West Delhi Cricket Academy at nine and trained under his first coach, Rajkumar Sharma, who saw the great potential in him. He believed that if trained well, Virat would attain great heights. Besides cricket training, Virat also excelled academically. His father provided both unconditional support and encouragement. 

Kohli lost his father to a stroke when he was 19 years old. It is a lesson to learn that Virat was on the field to play a Ranji match the next day and did tremendously well.

Virat Kohli Career

Domestic Cricket

The List A debut for Virat happened in February 2006. On that day, he played for Delhi against Services. He did not get a chance to bat, but Delhi won. Virat got a listing in over 273 List A matches.

On 23rd November 2006, Virat made his Ranji Trophy debut. It was against Tamil Nadu. He showed his true grit when he played for Delhi against Karnataka in December. It was the day after his father died. His 90 runs proved critical for the match. This changed Virat’s life. To quote his mother, “Overnight, he became a much more mature person. He took every match seriously. He hated being on the bench. It’s as if his life hinged totally on cricket after that day.”

Virat Kohli Debut

During the Sri Lanka tour, Virat joined the Indian team on 18th August 2008. In the 4th game, he made his match-winning score of 54 runs. The series was won by India 3-2. At times he was not selected for the national team, but he still was showing his ability. He was selected for the 4-team Emerging Players Tournament (July & August 2009 – Australia). Virat, with 398 runs, was the tournament’s leading scorer, and he calls this tournament his career’s turning point. 

The Rise

When Gautam Gambhir was injured, Kohli was called back for the Sri Lanka series and various tournaments, such as Champions Trophy (2009) and Australia. In Sri Lanka’s 4th ODI, Virat made his first century. The Gambhir-Kohli partnership of 224-was instrumental in Gambhir giving his Man of the Match award to Virat. In 2010, Virat made 995 runs (47.38 average) and became the highest run-scoring batsman. This got him a position on the Indian team.

ODI Career

His ODI performance got Virat the name ‘Chase Master Kohli’. He has made 43 ODI centuries, and the current world record is 49. Virat’s ODI debut was on 18th August 2008 against Sri Lanka. When Australia toured India in 2020, he beat his record of Tendulkar by scoring the fastest 12,000 runs in ODI.

Test Career

Virat is in 4th position for the highest number of double centuries in test cricket. He got the highest ever test rating for an Indian batsman – 937 against England on 22nd August 2018. He has, in 82 matches, made 22 half-centuries and 26 centuries. 

T20 Career

Virat made his international T20 debut during the India tour of Zimbabwe on 12th June 2010. Virat has captained the national team in all three formats and has an average of 50 in T20I. He scored 94 on 6th December 2019, against West Indies, his highest T20I score. 

IPL Career

Virat has been part of Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2008, the inception of IPL. Few have remained in the same team all along. In 2013, he became captain of the team and still is. 

In the 2016 season, Virat made 973 runs, comprising seven half-centuries and 4 centuries. 

Virat has the IPL record of scoring 6000 runs.

Virat Kohli Awards

• Arjuna Award (2013)
• ICC ODI Player of the Year (2012 & 2017)
• ICC ODI Team of the Year (2012, 2014, 2016 (captained the team) & 2017 (captained the team)
• ICC Test Team of the Year (2017 (captained the team))
• Padma Shri (2017)
• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2018)
• Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year – 2017)